Jake Gyllenhaal says he finds Great British Bake Off’s Prue Leith ‘mesmerising’

Actor says he ‘adores’ Leith and her various coats and spectacles

Jake Gyllenhaal has revealed he is a massive fan of The Great British Bake Off and is “mesmerised” by judge Prue Leith.

The actor also revealed he is desperate to meet Paul Hollywood, and his love for the show is why he would never consider taking part in his own baking programme.

Brokeback Mountain star Gyllenhaal, whose next film is the animation Spirit Untamed, said he spent lockdown perfecting his own baking, but would never do it on television.

He told the PA News Agency: “In my mind, there’s literally nothing that can beat The Great British Baking Show [the US title for The Great British Bake Off]. So no, the answer to that is no. But I do hope to one day meet Paul Hollywood.”

Gyllenhaal added: “Though Prue is my favourite. I’m mesmerised by her spectacles. Her coats or spectacles change and it’s almost as if they change every shot. Or do they change every show? I can’t figure it out. And I just adore her. Prue’s fantastic. I do really love Mr Hollywood, but you know, she’s amazing.”

In Spirit Untamed, Gyllenhaal voices the father of young girl whose life is changed when she moves from the city to a small frontier town and befriends a horse.

He said it was a challenge to find the right place to record his voice on his own in lockdown.

“I played the entire role on my knees, in basically a prayer position by a bed, with two pillows over both sides of my head and a very heavy blanket over them,” he said.

“We had a camera that had to shoot us doing the action so the animators could mimic our facial expressions, so I had a difficult time holding that screen up and talking to it at the same time and it was so, so hot.”

Spirit Untamed is out in UK cinemas now.

Additional reporting by Press Association